If you are new to Miles and Points, please read the following beginner-friendly articles first:
- Beginner’s Guide to the Miles Game and How to Get Started
Not sure where to start? Here’s a quick guide on the basics of the Miles Game and some challenges that you should be aware of. - What Type of Traveller are you? Is your Travel Pattern a Good Fit for the Miles Game?
The Miles Game is not for everyone. Complete this 13-point checklist, before you embark/continue on this journey!
📄Other travel-hacking articles
Free Unlimited WiFi
All Singapore Airlines (SQ) passengers, regardless of which cabin class they are flying in, get free unlimited WiFi throughout their flight, IF they meet one simple condition:
- Include KrisFlyer membership number in the SQ flight booking
This can be done at the time of booking (see below) or when checking in at the airport.
FAQ: Why wouldn’t someone include their KrisFlyer number in the booking?
An SQ traveller may choose to include a membership number of a different Frequent Flyer Program (FFP) to:
- Credit miles (on a paid SQ flight) to another partner FFP instead (e.g. Infinity MileageLands, Aeroplan)
- Use their status with another Star Alliance FFP*, to enjoy benefits like airport lounge access, priority boarding and additional baggage allowance
These travellers do not qualify for unlimited free inflight WiFi.
*I flew SQ Premium Economy from Tokyo Narita recently, with my KrisFlyer number added to the booking. As a United Airways Gold member at that time, I showed my membership details to the lounge staff, and was able to enter the ANA Lounge after some manual entries to the system.
Note: Due to satellite coverage and regulatory requirements, Wi-Fi will not be available when flying over India, Iran and Turkey airspace on the Airbus A380 and A350-900 Medium Haul aircraft, as well as selected Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
KrisFlyer Sweet Spots
The best ways to redeem KrisFlyer miles are for flights to countries/regions like Istanbul, Australia, New Zealand, North China and India. This is mainly due to the low award rates, as compared to what you’d find in other FFPs.
The Istanbul route is a very popular sweet spot, as it brings you to the “front door” of Europe for about 45% fewer miles in Business Class.
Sweet Spots: Best ways to redeem Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles in 2024
Bulkhead seats are MUCH nicer
Because of the ultra-generous legroom, the bulkhead Business Class seats on Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER, Airbus A350-900 and Airbus A380 aircrafts are probably the most spacious out there; almost as good as First Class, dare I say.
Couples travelling together can also book the center seats to enjoy a “double bed” configuration; which is really luxurious for Business Class.
Other Business Class seats on the same aircraft require passengers to lay down at an angle, with their feet in a narrow tunnel.
Here’s what the foot well on a non-bulkhead seat looks like:
Unfortunately, only a small percentage of Business Class seats are bulkhead seats. For example, in a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, only 8 out of 48 Business Class seats (~17%) are bulkheads. So, how can you score one of them?
These are basically the front-most seats in the Business Class cabin. There may be more than 1 such cabin on some aircraft, like the one shown below.
So here’s how you do it.
- More than 96 hrs before departure: Bulkhead seats are open for selection to PPS Club members only.
- 96-hr mark till 48-hr mark: Travellers will not be able to make any changes to their seat selection online. To choose a bulkhead seat during this period, travellers may reach out to SQ (nicely please) via phone, or through the live chat function on singaporeair.com.
- 48-hr mark: Online check-in opens. After checking in online, passengers can select any available seats, including bulkheads.
So, remember to set your alarm, because these seats are well worth it!
Note: Unfortunately, travellers can’t tell if seats are blocked or occupied on singaporeair.com. Expert Flyer is a great tool for this purpose.
Free seat selection
Passengers flying in Premium cabins can make an advance seat selection online, for free. Economy Class passengers may select their seats for free (incl. bulkheads), when online check-in opens 48 hours before departure.
For a better flying experience, I highly recommend pre-selecting your seats, especially when they are free. Visit SeatGuru to find out the best and worst seats for your aircraft type.
Free “upgrade” to Premium Economy
SQ sometimes flies aircraft that are installed with Premium Economy seats, to regional destinations where such seats are not sold.
For that reason, Economy Class passengers may select the Premium Economy seats for free, when online check-in opens 48 hours before departure.
Regional destinations that may have such arrangements include Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.
Note: This is not an official upgrade to Premium Economy. Passengers doing this trick will not be entitled to other Premium Economy benefits like Book the Cook meals, champagne or better mileage accrual (if it’s a paid flight).
Award seats released 355 days in advance
KrisFlyer usually releases Singapore Airlines award seats at 8am SGT, 355 days before departure; that’s about 1 year ahead.
If you are fine with planning your trip a whole year in advance, this is a good time to lock in those award tickets, especially when you are:
- Travelling during a super-peak travel period
- Travelling to popular destinations
- Booking for more than 1 passenger
Super-peak travel periods
SQ award tickets, especially in Business/First Class, are usually taken up very quickly during the following super-peak travel periods:
- March school holidays (1 week)
- June school holidays (4 weeks)
- September school holidays (1 week)
- December school holidays (4 weeks)
- Singapore public holidays with long weekends (Friday or Monday)
Travellers looking to fly during these super-peak periods, should aim to book them 10 to 12 months in advance.
Popular destinations
SQ award tickets, especially in Business/First Class, to the following destinations are usually taken up very quickly:
- Istanbul (hot sweet spot)
- Tokyo, Osaka
- Seoul
- Europe (London, Paris, Milan etc.)
Travellers looking to fly during these super-peak periods, should also aim to book them 10 to 12 months in advance.
Note: If you are planning to book a flight during a super-peak period and to/from a popular destination, and for more than 1 passenger, you should really consider booking it at 8am, 355 days in advance.
Saver rates to some cities may NEVER be available
Travellers may not see any Saver award rates available for certain routes and seat types, even at 8am, 355 days before departure. These route-seat combination tend to go straight to Advantage or Waitlist.
Common routes and seats with immediately-blocked Saver rates are:
- Suites Class to/from Europe, Japan, New Zealand, Australia
- First Class to/from Europe, Japan, New Zealand, Australia
- Business Class to/from Istanbul
Book the Cook
Flying in a Premium cabin (Premium Economy, Business, First, Suites Class) with Singapore Airlines gives you access to Book the Cook (BTC) where you can choose your in-flight main course beforehand, through the “Manage Booking” page on singaporeair.com.
As you would expect, flying out of Singapore’s Changi Airport gives you the best BTC options. Check the BTC options for each departing city here.
Include a side trip for free
Singapore-based travellers making an award booking to medium/long haul destinations can include a second (short) flight in their booking, at no additional cost in miles.
This is because, flights to/from Southeast Asian cities costs the same amount of miles as flights to/from Singapore. For example, flying from Bangkok to Auckland (via Singapore) costs the exact same amount of miles (airport tax varies) as flying from Singapore to Auckland.
With such a booking, one can book a separate flight to Bangkok, spend a few days there, before returning to Singapore and flying to the main destination within 24 hours.
Of course, the reverse route is also possible: Auckland → Singapore → Bangkok.
Pro tip: Try to find a flight combination that allows you to return home (in Singapore) for a good night’s sleep, before boarding the main flight (see example below).
Do NOT expect your Waitlist to clear
KrisFlyer members can waitlist for certain award flights that are not available for immediate confirmation.
Key Waitlist rules:
- You need sufficient miles in your account to waitlist
- Waitlist bookings do not affect your miles balance
- Waitlist bookings do not require you to pay for any taxes/fees
- Waitlist bookings can be made up to 3 weeks prior to departure
- Waitlisters may only be notified 2 weeks prior to departure, if they are successful or not
- There is no limit to the number of waitlists you can join
- If a waitlist is cleared (successful), you typically have 3 days to confirm it (with payment of miles + taxes/fees)
- If a waitlist is cleared, you do not have to accept it
FAQ: What are the chances of my Waitlist clearing?
Nobody knows, and KrisFlyer will not tell you. Take it as zero. Have plans B, C, D, and do not rely on it to clear.
Based on what I’ve gathered from readers and online message boards, it confuses members more than it helps them. Talk to KrisFlyer regulars near you, and they may admit to making multiple (just in case) waitlist bookings, months ahead of departure, for “maybe” trips that they are not even serious about.
Personally, with an ecosytem that seemingly has poor protection against abuse, I find KrisFlyer’s waitlist feature a complete nuisance. And unfortunately, it will remain that way until there is a limit to the number of waitlists that a member can join, and some form of penalty to those who does not confirm their cleared waitlists.
Cheapest ways to experience SQ Suites
SQ only has these amazing suites installed in their Airbus A380 aircraft, and there are only 12 such aircraft still in service.
This list changes sporadically, but here are the destinations that are usually serviced by the airline’s Airbus A380s:
- Hong Kong
- Delhi
- Mumbai
- Shanghai
- Beijing
- Tokyo
- Melbourne
- Sydney
- Auckland
- London
However, KrisFlyer typically only releases Saver Suites (without waitlisting) on shorter routes like Hong Kong, Mumbai, Delhi, Shanghai and Beijing.
The good news is that I see these routes as KrisFlyer sweet spots, giving you great value for the 3 to 5 hours experience.
Request for Amenity Kit
While other top airlines provide amenity kits to Business Class passengers automatically, SQ tends to only offer them on request.
If you do not see an amenity kit at your seat, on your next Business Class flight, you may request for one. But please do it after the plane has reached cruising altitude, when the flight attendants are less busy.
Blocked award availability to/from SIN
There has been multiple data points shared in Suitesmile Chat Telegram group (see here and here), about the lack of SQ award availability for flights to/from Singapore, that becomes available when a regional city is added to the start or end of the itinerary.
For example: Zero availability for Business Class from SIN to Istanbul, but available when you search Jakarta to Istanbul (via Singapore, of course), on the same date, in the same cabin class, on the same plane.
tl;dr: If you can’t find Saver award availability to/from SIN, try searching to/from regional cities.
But, why is SQ doing this? I can’t answer that with certainty, but if I were to guess, it’s probably because seats to/from Singapore (a regional hub) sell well (less incentive to make award seats available when you can sell them for money).
Request a free birthday cake
Sq passengers flying in any cabin class can request for a complimentary birthday cake, when flying on their birthday (+/- 1 day). Depending on how thick-skinned you are, it is probably a lot less awkward to request it for your companion, instead of yourself, on a solo flight. 🙈
To request for a birthday cake, send an email to [email protected], at least a week before your flight.
Note: SQ may require a minimum flight duration of 2 to 3 hours, to provide a cake.
Spend the night in a SilverKris lounge
SQ passengers departing SIN can check in their luggages up to 24 hours before departure. This makes it possible to spend hours in the lounge, by arriving the day before the flight.
But why, you ask? Free food and drinks (incl. champagne), that’s why.
Personally, I feel that only The Private Room (exclusive to SQ First/Suites Class passengers only) offers a borderline outstanding F&B experience.
Unfortunately, it is not opened 24 hours. So, if you are an SQ First/Suites Class passenger, you can spend the rest of the night at the SilverKris First Class lounge, which has limited nap rooms. The SilverKris Business Class lounge also has some nap cubicles. These are nowhere near as comfortable as the lounge beds in Turkish and Cathay Pacific‘s overseas lounges though.
I can see this being a fun little experience, if a traveller has an early flight the next day, and/or travelling with a drinking buddy.
(Don’t) Request for SQ teddy bears
There seems to be a “craze” around these SQ teddy bears recently, and as a minimalist, I can’t wrap my head around it.
From my understanding, each SQ aircraft departing Singapore is loaded with 2 or 4 pairs of these teddy bears; 2 pairs if there is no First Class cabin, 4 pairs if there is. This supply would last all the way until the aircraft returns to SIN (i.e. 4 pairs for the round trip from SIN to London and back).
As a person above the age of 10, I think it’s only right to let the kids have them. Or if I really want one, I’d request for it at the end of the flight.
Plead your case at the ION office
Can’t get through to SQ’s hotline or live chat? Got a situation/complaint involving SQ/KrisFlyer that can’t be resolved over the phone? You may have better luck with a physical visit at the Singapore Airlines Service Centre at: 2 Orchard Turn, #04-05, ION Orchard, Singapore 238801.
Us locals call it GIBT (Go ION Bang Table, but not literally please). This is just a part of the SQ/KrisFlyer experience that every customer should know, when facing exceptional circumstances that can’t be resolved through other channels.
Data points here, here and here.
Other KrisFlyer/SQ quirks to take note of
- KrisFlyer miles expire 3 years after they are earned (can pay for one-time extension of 6/12 months)
- KrisFlyer miles are, for the most part, only useful for Singapore Airlines flights. This is due to the high award rates on the Star Alliance award chart and that fuel surcharges are passed on for non-SQ bookings
- Meal plating in SQ Business Class tends to lack effort (not IG-worthy), as compared to other top airlines (examples here, here, here)
- Other FFPs (like Infinity MileageLands, Aeroplan and Mileage Plan) can sometimes see better award availability for SQ flights, than KrisFlyer
- SQ lounges in SIN gets really crowded from 8pm to 12 midight daily
- SQ’s Airbus A380 Suite beds and Business Class seats are super firm, quite uncomfortable for a proper sleep on a long haul flight, especially if you are a side-sleeper
Bottom line
There’s no question that SQ and KrisFlyer is most popular airline-FFP combination for SIN-based travellers who are into the Miles Game.
Congratulations, with these tips, tricks, secrets and unwritten rules, you are now a knowledgeable KrisFlyer member, and… *whispers* kind-of an expert in the game.
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